Feature Channels: Geology

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Released: 5-Feb-2020 1:50 PM EST
Research Brief: Ocean Temperatures Impact Central American Climate More than Once Thought
University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV)

In a study published today in the journal Nature Communications, UNLV climate scientists and colleagues examined the rainfall history of Central America over the last 11,000 years. The results provide long-sought answers to what has been controlling rainfall in the region for several millennia.

Released: 4-Feb-2020 4:50 PM EST
Peeking at the plumbing of one of the Aleutian's most-active volcanoes
Carnegie Institution for Science

A new approach to analyzing seismic data reveals deep vertical zones of low seismic velocity in the plumbing system underlying Alaska's Cleveland volcano, one of the most-active of the more than 70 Aleutian volcanoes

27-Jan-2020 4:05 PM EST
In Cuba, Cleaner Rivers Follow Greener Farming
University of Vermont

For the first time in more than 50 years, a joint team of Cuban and U.S. field scientists studied the water quality of twenty-five Cuban rivers and found little damage after centuries of sugarcane production. They also found nutrient pollution in Cuba’s rivers much lower than the Mississippi River. Cuba’s shift to conservation agriculture after the collapse of the Soviet Union—and reduced use of fertilizers on cropland—may be a primary cause.

Released: 29-Jan-2020 3:20 PM EST
Smaller Detection Device Effective for Nuclear Treaty Verification, Archaeology Digs
American Institute of Physics (AIP)

Most nuclear data measurements are performed at accelerators large enough to occupy a geologic formation a kilometer wide. But a portable device that can reveal the composition of materials quickly on-site would greatly benefit cases such as in archaeology and nuclear arms treaty verification. Research published this week in AIP Advances used computational simulations to show that with the right geometric adjustments, it is possible to perform accurate neutron resonance transmission analysis in a device just 5 meters long.

Released: 28-Jan-2020 2:45 PM EST
Study analyses potential global spread of new coronavirus
University of Southampton

Experts in population mapping at the University of Southampton have identified cities and provinces within mainland China, and cities and countries worldwide, which are at high-risk from the spread of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV).

   
Released: 27-Jan-2020 3:40 PM EST
Earth's most biodiverse ecosystems face a perfect storm
Lancaster University

A combination of climate change, extreme weather and pressure from local human activity is causing a collapse in global biodiversity and ecosystems across the tropics, new research shows.

22-Jan-2020 5:55 PM EST
New species of Allosaurus discovered in Utah
University of Utah

A remarkable new species of meat-eating dinosaur, Allosaurus jimmadseni, was unveiled at the Natural History Museum of Utah. The huge carnivore inhabited the flood plains of western North America during the Late Jurassic Period, between 157-152 million years ago, making it the geologically oldest species of Allosaurus, predating the more well-known state fossil of Utah, Allosaurus fragilis.

Released: 23-Jan-2020 4:35 PM EST
Researcher looking for clues in the mystery of the Grand Canyon’s water supply
Northern Arizona University

Research technician Natalie Jones is the lead author on a paper that looked at how scientists model the vulnerability of karst formations around the Grand Canyon. Along with professor Abe Springer, she created a new model that can give land and water managers more information so they can better protect the water system.

Released: 23-Jan-2020 10:25 AM EST
For now, river deltas gain land worldwide
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Researchers from Utrecht University in the Netherlands, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), and colleagues found that delta areas worldwide have actually gained land in the past 30 years, despite river damming. However, recent land gains are unlikely to last throughout the 21st century due to expected, accelerated sea level rise. The researchers published their findings in the journal Nature.

Released: 22-Jan-2020 3:15 PM EST
Global river deltas increasingly shaped by humans, study says
Tulane University

The study by current and former researchers at Tulane University looked at nearly every delta in the world.

Released: 21-Jan-2020 7:05 PM EST
Rising global temperatures turn northern permafrost region into significant carbon source
Argonne National Laboratory

A new study that incorporates datasets gathered from more than 100 sites by institutions including the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory, suggests that decomposition of organic matter in permafrost soil is substantially larger than previously thought, demonstrating the significant impact that emissions from the permafrost soil could have on the greenhouse effect and global warming.

Released: 21-Jan-2020 1:40 PM EST
Mars' water was mineral-rich and salty
Tokyo Institute of Technology

Presently, Earth is the only known location where life exists in the Universe. This year the Nobel Prize in physics was awarded to three astronomers who proved, almost 20 years ago, that planets are common around stars beyond the solar system.

Released: 21-Jan-2020 10:00 AM EST
Rutgers Geology Museum Hosts Open House
Rutgers University-New Brunswick

Presentations on natural disasters such as earthquakes, volcanoes and their impacts will be held in Scott Hall and are open to the public at the Rutgers Geology Museum’s 52nd Annual Open House. There will also be hands-on activity sessions for kids, a mineral sale and rock and mineral identification in Scott Hall, and make-and-take stations in the Rutgers Geology Museum. Field Station Dinosaurs will bring its baby Hadrosaurus puppet and will also offer hands-on activities for visitors. All events are free and no preregistration is required.

Released: 20-Jan-2020 9:00 AM EST
Spock versus the volcano
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Kolumbo volcano—which sits 500 meters below the surface within the fault-heavy Hellenic Volcanic Arc just off Santorini—is the Aegean Sea’s most active and potentially dangerous volcano.

Released: 13-Jan-2020 1:15 PM EST
Can Solar Geoengineering Mitigate both Climate Change and Income Inequality?
University of California San Diego

New research from the University of California San Diego finds that solar geoengineering—the intentional reflection of sunlight away from the Earth’s surface—may reduce income inequality between countries.

Released: 10-Jan-2020 1:30 PM EST
Scientists Find Oldest-Known Fossilized Digestive Tract -- 550 Million Years
University of Missouri, Columbia

A 550 million-year-old fossilized digestive tract found in the Nevada desert could be a key find in understanding the early history of animals on Earth.

Released: 8-Jan-2020 1:40 PM EST
100 million years in amber: Researchers discover oldest fossilized slime mold
University of Göttingen

Most people associate the idea of creatures trapped in amber with insects or spiders, which are preserved lifelike in fossil tree resin.

Released: 7-Jan-2020 12:15 PM EST
If trees could talk
West Virginia University - Eberly College of Arts and Sciences

Researchers at West Virginia University are using tree-ring dating to determine not only when trees were cut down to build historic log buildings in the region but also what the forests were like before European immigrants arrived.

Released: 2-Jan-2020 12:55 PM EST
New study estimates the global extent of river ice loss as Earth warms
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

More than half of Earth's rivers freeze over every year. These frozen rivers support important transportation networks for communities and industries located at high latitudes.

25-Dec-2019 2:00 PM EST
Life could have emerged from lakes with high phosphorus
University of Washington

Life as we know it requires phosphorus, which is scarce. How did the early Earth supply this key ingredient? A University of Washington study, published Dec. 30 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, finds answers in certain types of carbonate-rich lakes.

Released: 18-Dec-2019 12:05 PM EST
Ice sheet melting: Estimates still uncertain, experts warn
University of Lincoln

Estimates used by climate scientists to predict the rate at which the world's ice sheets will melt are still uncertain despite advancements in technology, new research shows.

Released: 18-Dec-2019 11:05 AM EST
If the world can capture carbon, there's capacity to store it
Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) will play a vital role in helping the world cut its carbon dioxide emissions, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says.

Released: 17-Dec-2019 5:05 PM EST
Tip of the ICEBERG: Planetary scientists developing large-scale ‘imagery-computing superhighway’
Northern Arizona University

Northern Arizona University assistant professor Mark Salvatore and doctoral student Helen Eifert are working on an NSF-funded project to analyze data across the frozen landscape of Antarctica, which will eventually help scientists produce detailed geologic maps of the Lower Colorado River Corridor.

Released: 17-Dec-2019 2:25 PM EST
New ice river detected at Arctic glacier adds to rising seas
Cornell University

Geologists, examining the desolate Vavilov ice cap on the northern fringe of Siberia in the Arctic Circle, have for the first time observed rapid ice loss from an improbable new river of ice, according to new research in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.

Released: 16-Dec-2019 4:50 PM EST
NSF grant aims to improve research into factors impacting geographic education
Texas State University

Michael Solem, professor in the Department of Geography at Texas State University, has received a $300,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to identify factors that may impact K-12 geography education

11-Dec-2019 2:30 PM EST
Hard as a rock? Maybe not, say bacteria that help form soil
University of Wisconsin–Madison

Research published this week by University of Wisconsin–Madison scientists shows how bacteria can degrade solid bedrock, jump-starting a long process of alteration that creates the mineral portion of soil.

Released: 11-Dec-2019 11:55 AM EST
Shrinking of Greenland’s glaciers began accelerating in 2000, research finds
Ohio State University

Satellite data has given scientists clues about how, when and why Greenland’s glaciers are shrinking – and shows a sharp increase in glacial retreat beginning about 2000, according to new research presented this week.

2-Dec-2019 11:05 AM EST
Move Over Jules Verne -- Scientists Deploy Ocean Floats to Peer into Earth’s Interior
Acoustical Society of America (ASA)

The release of more than 50 floating sensors, called Mobile Earthquake Recording in Marine Areas by Independent Divers (MERMAIDs), is increasing the number of seismic stations around the planet. Scientists will use them to clarify the picture of the massive mantel plume in the lower mantel lying below the South Pacific Ocean. This effort will also establish one of the most comprehensive overviews of seismic activity across the globe. Frederik Simons will discuss this international effort during the marine seismoacoustics session of the 178th ASA Meeting.

Released: 5-Dec-2019 2:10 PM EST
SDSC’s Comet Supercomputer Helps Researchers Predict Carbon Dioxide Levels
University of California San Diego

The Global Change Biology Journal earlier this year published findings related to the Effects of 21st Century Climate, Land Use, and Disturbances on Ecosystem Carbon Balance in California after using the San Diego Supercomputer Center’s Comet supercomputer to create simulations of various global climate, land-use, and emissions models.

Released: 5-Dec-2019 12:05 PM EST
Carbon emissions from volcanic rocks can create global warming -- study
University of Birmingham

Greenhouse gas emissions released directly from the movement of volcanic rocks are capable of creating massive global warming effects

Released: 4-Dec-2019 6:05 PM EST
Environmental intelligence to better understand the changing Arctic
Sandia National Laboratories

Selected talks and posters presented by Arctic researchers from Sandia National Laboratories at the American Geophysical Union annual meeting on Monday, Dec. 9, 2019.

Released: 4-Dec-2019 12:45 PM EST
Solving the Mystery of Carbon on Ocean Floor
University of Delaware

Little bits of black carbon littering the ocean floor, separate and distinct from the organic carbon believed to come from the ocean’s surface. The source of that strange, and older, carbon has now been identified by UD researchers. The discovery is an important step in understanding the marine carbon cycle.

25-Nov-2019 8:00 PM EST
Six Berkeley Lab Scientists Named AAAS Fellows
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Six scientists from the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have been named Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Released: 26-Nov-2019 10:05 AM EST
Extra-terrestrial impacts may have triggered 'bursts' of plate tectonics
Geological Society of America (GSA)

When -- and how -- Earth's surface evolved from a hot, primordial mush into a rocky planet continually resurfaced by plate tectonics remain some of the biggest unanswered questions in earth science research. Now a new study, published in Geology, suggests this earthly transition may in fact have been triggered by extra-terrestrial impacts.

Released: 24-Nov-2019 7:05 PM EST
Communities must band together to protect against bushfires
University of South Australia

As Australia confronts devastating bushfire conditions, people across the nation are doing all they can to ensure the safety of their homes, property and loved ones. But while many individuals are responding well to bushfire risks, a lack of preparation on the community level could be hampering their efforts, according to new research from the University of South Australia.

Released: 22-Nov-2019 3:50 PM EST
El Nino Swings More Violently in the Industrial Age, Compelling Evidence Says
Georgia Institute of Technology

Enough physical evidence spanning millennia has now come together to allow researchers to say definitively that: El Ninos, La Ninas, and the climate phenomenon that drives them have become more extreme in the times of human-induced climate change.

Released: 22-Nov-2019 10:05 AM EST
Study: Wildfires in Oregon's blue mountains to become more frequent, severe due to climate change
Portland State University

Under a warming climate, wildfires in Oregon's southern Blue Mountains will become more frequent, more extensive and more severe, according to a new Portland State University-led study.

Released: 22-Nov-2019 9:05 AM EST
Two million-year-old ice cores provide first direct observations of an ancient climate
Princeton University

Princeton University-led researchers have extracted 2 million-year-old ice cores from Antarctica that provide the first direct observations of Earth's climate at a time when the furred early ancestors of modern humans still roamed.

Released: 20-Nov-2019 3:55 PM EST
Tulane scientist embarks on mission to Florida-sized glacier
Tulane University

Geologist Brent Goehring is joining researchers from across the U.S. and the U.K. to research sea-level rise

15-Nov-2019 11:00 AM EST
Exposure to air pollutants from power plants varies by race, income and geography
American Chemical Society (ACS)

Researchers report in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology that pollutant exposure varies with certain demographic factors.

Released: 19-Nov-2019 2:35 PM EST
New Geologic Modeling Method Explains Collapse of Ancient Mountains in American West
Stony Brook University

By using the latest computer technologies, combined with geologic data, researchers at Stony Brook University have developed a geodynamic model that explains the forces behind the collapse of what were lofty mountains some 30 million years ago in what is now part of the American West.

Released: 18-Nov-2019 10:05 AM EST
Sierra Nevada has oldest underground water recharge system in Europe
University of Granada

A multidisciplinary group of scientists from the Geological and Mining Institute of Spain (IGME) and the Universities of Granada, Cologne, and Lisbon has demonstrated that the traditional careo underground aquifer recharge system used in Sierra Nevada is the oldest in Europe.

Released: 14-Nov-2019 1:25 PM EST
Researchers study impact of contaminants in floodwaters
Missouri University of Science and Technology

Last spring’s historic flooding along the Missouri and Mississippi rivers may have distributed toxic contaminants along wide flood routes. Researchers know little about how these materials may affect public health and safety in rural and urban areas. But a group of geologists and geological engineers from Missouri University of Science and Technology is working to find out.

11-Nov-2019 1:20 PM EST
New fossil pushes back physical evidence of insect pollination to 99 million years ago
Indiana University

A study co-led by researchers at Indiana University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences has pushed back the first-known physical evidence of insect flower pollination to 99 million years ago, during the mid-Cretaceous period.

Released: 5-Nov-2019 2:05 PM EST
Scientists declare climate emergency, establish global indicators for effective action
Oregon State University

A global coalition of scientists led by William J. Ripple and Christopher Wolf of Oregon State University says "untold human suffering" is unavoidable without deep and lasting shifts in human activities that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and other factors related to climate change.

   
Released: 31-Oct-2019 1:05 PM EDT
Two million-year-old ice provides snapshot of Earth's greenhouse gas history
University of Exeter

Two million-year old ice from Antarctica recently uncovered by a team of researchers provides a clearer picture into the connections between greenhouse gases and climate in ancient times and will help scientists understand future climate change.

Released: 30-Oct-2019 2:05 PM EDT
Drones help map Iceland's disappearing glaciers
University of Dundee

A new 3D process which involves old aerial photos and modern-day drone photography has shed light on accelerated ice loss from some of Iceland's largest glaciers.

Released: 29-Oct-2019 11:45 AM EDT
Safeguarding Our Water Supply
University of Delaware

University of Delaware environmental engineer Chin-Pao Huang has been studying ways to remove perchlorate from drinking water for nearly a decade. He and a former doctoral student have patented a novel membrane that can selectively filter perchlorate from drinking water.



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